It’s spring and my favorite time to do something fun in the classroom. While so many are focusing on State Testing, why not follow up with something fun that can be celebrated! Poetry is something the kids just love!
What is a Poetry Cafe?
Poetry Cafe is basically a laid back performance where kids share poems that they created. In our class, the kindergarteners planned it all. We did research by watching other kids perform their own poetry. We learned about all the different kinds of poems by watching many Brainpop videos, reading poetry books, and learning about famous poets like Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky.
How to Plan a Poetry Cafe
We started by brainstorming all of the things that we wanted to include in our Poetry Cafe. We used this web here to brainstorm our ideas. The kids loved planning! We grouped the items that went together and then each students signed up to be in charge of planning, creating, and executing the task at hand.
The kids made banners to hang on the “stage”. They made posters for the hallway to let everyone know what they were doing. They made center pieces for the tables and even refreshments for the guests. It was so much fun!
While we took time to do all of the planning and creating, we were also learning about different styles of poetry each day. We made a couple class poems together that hung in the classroom. A couple favorites were Alliterations and Acrostic Poems. The kids personal favorite style of poetry was Free Verse Poetry. They loved hearing that there are no rules to Free Verse. They simply start with a plain piece of paper. Draw a picture and write.
We created a Poetry Notebook that included all of the the students poems. Bound it together and made a wonderful keepsake of kindergarten work. While Free Verse was the favorite in our writing center, we also created some poems during our writing lessons. Poems using our senses, using adjectives to describe, acrostic poems with our names, color poems, and the other group favorite, the Rhythm Poem.
Camping by: Annabelle
Camping Camping.
Camping Camping.
So much fun!
So much!
Camping Camping.
This was so much fun and so much was learned. NOT JUST LITERACY….but executive function skills: organizing, planning, and executing. Students were so proud and confident. They practiced being a good speaker, a good listener, and built each other up by encouraging each other along the way.
Check out what they planned…
Finally, the day came for our parents to come and hear a poem that each child selected from their Poetry Notebook. The kids decided that a podium and microphone would be a must with a poster positioned behind them to create a backdrop or setting, they even created Lite Brite designs around the room for nostalgia.
I cannot tell you how easy this was! Very little work on my part. The kids did it all! This is what made it so much fun. Yes, this was PRE-covid… and I know that we have had to get creative with how to do this sort of thing, but even without the live audience, the kids would have done it again! They learned so much, benefitted so much, and the effort on my part (as teacher)….well, as the kids say, “Easy Peasy, Lemon Sqeezy!!!”
I hope you give it a try, it’s definitely one of my favorite units!
I have created a Poetry Cafe Pack that you can find by clicking here. It is in “The Shop” on my page and at my TPT store that you can find by clicking here. I would love to hear all about how your Poetry Cafe goes when you try it in your own classroom!
Enjoy Being Their Difference,
Thanks for posting this idea! I focus on poetry during the beginning of the school year and will be adding a Poetry Cafe for the end of the second week!
My students absolutely love this unit! It’s a favorite every year and I’ve used it in many different grade levels!